The arts debate, Arts Council England’s first ever public value inquiry, ran from October 2006 to September 2007. It involved a number of stages of in-depth research as well as an open consultation. During that period the Arts Council learned an enormous amount about how different people value the arts and their views on arts funding in England. They have brought together the findings from all stages of the inquiry into an overall summary report, Public value and the arts in England: Discussion and conclusions of the arts debate.
The summary report provides an account of how people think and feel about the arts in England and their priorities for public funding. It explains how the debate has provided a new framework for understanding the public value of the arts:

• The arts are seen as part of our fundamental capacity for life
• The arts enrich our experience of life
• The arts offer powerful applications in other contexts

The report identifies important areas of consensus as well as points of difference. There is widespread support for the principle of public funding for the arts but only if it seeks to achieve certain key outcomes. People would like the Arts Council to:

• support ground-breaking work that touches the lives of more people in exciting, surprising ways
• be bold, visionary, transparent, fair and properly accountable
• continue to foster public debate about the role the arts play in our lives

Detailed findings from each stage of the inquiry can also be accessed on the research & consultation page at the link below. 

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/artsdebate/summaryandconclusions.php